Broadway star Christopher Jackson botches 'Star-Spangled Banner' in Mets' season opener

Tarohn FinleyThu, March 26, 2026 at 10:26 PM UTC

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Paul Skenes was not the only one who had a rough start in the New York Mets' and Pittsburgh Pirates' season opener on Thursday at Citi Field. Award-winning actor and singer Christopher Jackson forgot the lyrics to the "Star-Spangled Banner" when singing the national anthem before the game.

While he got off to a fine start, Jackson paused before repeating the lyrics, "What so proudly we hailed," from earlier in the verse. The broadcast cameras panned to veterans and players who winced after Jackson's blunder. Jackson picked up the lyrics at "were so gallantly streaming" and finished the national anthem despite his mistake.

After the performance, Jackson told TMZ that he has performed the national anthem at games before without issue, but it can be a "challenging experience."

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"Today it was for about five seconds ... and one line got away from me," he said. "I'm human. But I won't hesitate to step up to a mic and pay tribute to those that we honor with the anthem. Grateful to the Mets and MLB for allowing me to be a small part of the day."

Jackson has starred on Broadway and played George Washington in the original cast of "Hamilton," a role that won him a Tony award.

The Mets started the season 1-0 with an 11-7 victory over the Pirates that saw the home team chase Skenes after just two outs and five runs allowed.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”